Early this month, Dharma Realm Buddhist University hosted for the first time the annual Student Conference of the Association for Core Texts and Courses, an organization which supports liberal undergraduate education through the study of core texts. The ACTC’s annual Student Conference gives student scholars from Great Books-style programs and universities the opportunity to share their work, ideas, and insights and make connections in the broader liberal arts community.

The theme of this year’s conference, “Happiness in Connection,” encouraged the student scholars in attendance to consider the importance of community in our increasingly isolated world. The conference itself put this principle into action, as dozens of people came together over a sunny spring weekend to celebrate genuine scholarship, which goes beyond the rote academic to form bonds of collaboration and care.

As Charlotte Thomas, Mercer University professor and executive director of the ACTC, said in her opening remarks on Friday night, “If you’re sitting in front of an open book with an open question, you’re our people.” With an open heart, DRBU welcomed fifteen scholars from other universities, including three international scholars: one from Canada, one from Mexico, and one from Brazil, who is on a year-long exchange in the United States. These visitors joined ten DRBU students to share their scholarly work with each other and the DRBU community.

Keynote speaker Nipun Mehta, founder of ServiceSpace, opened the conference on Friday night with an inspiring talk about service. In our modern attention economy, many forces conspire to keep us self-involved. Service shifts our attention away from ourselves and toward the whole, where we can see ourselves as part of something bigger. Then compassionate action comes naturally.

On Saturday, the main day of the conference, six panels of student scholars presented their papers and engaged in dialogue with each other and with the audience. After everyone had shared their work, the group visited the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to tour the DRBU Classroom Building and the Buddha Hall. Then they made a trip to Montgomery Woods, where many visitors got to enjoy the peace and beauty of the redwoods for the first time.

On Sunday morning, as visiting scholars said their goodbyes over breakfast, gratitude and cheer prevailed. Though sad to see our guests go, DRBU looks forward eagerly to the next time we can host such a gathering of inspiring young thinkers, friends from near and far.